Chapter 13: Chapter 13: Dungeon O-S (6)

Carla hugged her puffed-up belly with both arms and curled up.

“Master, Master! Anything but that potion! Please… please show some mercy just this once!”

“…Saying that in this position, someone could easily get the wrong idea.”

I mean, the way you’re saying that in that position is kind of awkward, you know!

The uncomfortable feeling at the back of my head disappeared for a moment.

Ding!

【Hidden Dungeon Cleared!】

Successfully cleared the dungeon guarded by aristocrats.

The remaining evil forces will be fully sealed in the dimension gap.

An exit will appear, and entry from outside the dungeon will become impossible.

A righteous light pays tribute to your achievement.

The twisted being curses you for foiling its plan.

A clear notification filled my vision.

Next, a distortion in space appeared not far from Carla and me.

The emergence of an exit portal meant all the monsters inside had been cleared.

Going through that would result in the dungeon’s disappearance, and rewards would be provided.

This dungeon didn’t automatically kick you out to let you gather the remains of the monsters and bosses you defeated.

…although that was meaningless this time since we turned all the monsters we encountered, including the boss, into ashes.

I turned off the notification after reading its familiar contents one more time.

“Phew… Well, we had to rest anyway. We’ll just naturally recover our mana.”

“Really…?”

“Yeah. We cleared it faster than I thought. If we leave now, we’d probably just get caught between the security forces and the aristocrats, wouldn’t we?”

Carla, who had been trembling, slowly raised her head.

Her ruby-colored eyes were shimmering between her long platinum blonde hair.

Her eyes were full of hope, as if she’d found a gem at the bottom of an empty box.

She probably hadn’t received the dungeon clear notification like me, so she must be happy just to know that she wouldn’t have to drink more potions.

It was rather fascinating, I must say.

Watching her rapidly changing expressions, a mischievous urge quietly started building up inside me, as if launched by an unintentional moral attack.

Grinning, I pulled a mana potion out of my inventory.

Pop.

It was a transparent, round glass bottle. I grabbed the long neck of the bottle and shook it, making the blue liquid inside slosh around.

“Eeeek…!”

It didn’t take long for her eyes, once filled with hope, to fill with despair again.

I then sat down on one knee in front of Carla.

“Carla.”

“Y-yes!”

“You’re that full?”

“Y-yes…”

“Being full means your stomach is completely packed, right?”

“Th-that’s true…”

I wonder if she guessed what I was about to say. Carla’s eyes widened as she let out a gasp.

“You can’t mean… Master…?”

“Yes, probably what you’re thinking.”

I nodded my head with the most gracious expression I could muster.

“How about throwing up and drinking a new potion? Wouldn’t that be okay?”

“P-pouring a potion into the anus won’t have any effect!”

“……?”

“……?”

Carla and I spoke at the same time, tilting our heads simultaneously in confusion.

A beat later, I understood what Carla had said.

Oh, my goodness. If it couldn’t go in from the top, put it in from the bottom?

An unintentionally shaky voice escaped my lips,

“You… you were thinking about that?”

“Squawk!”

Carla let out a weird scream and jumped up.

To cut to the chase, gimmicks like that didn’t work.

If you vomit the potion and drink it again, the flow of magical power becomes unstable, causing a high likelihood of mana reflux.

As for the other “entrance,” it wasn’t that it didn’t work. It was just that the recovery was so minimal that it was meaningless.

Surprisingly, both methods had been physically tested by a few mages, leaving a solid record of failures. Among the mages, it was actually quite a well-known tale.

It was disappointing that you couldn’t drink potions infinitely like in the game. I would have to rethink my dungeon strategy from now on.

Exhaling at the disappointing thought, Carla, who had now calmed down, asked in a puzzled voice,

“Master… why are you so obsessed with potions?”

“Well, it’s a matter of efficiency.”

“Efficiency?”

Carla blinked rapidly, as if she had heard something unexpected.

Well, from Carla’s point of view, it must seem crazy that I was talking about efficiency when I spent gold like it was nothing.

But for me, who had gold to spare, this was more efficient.

Above all, it was a method that was verified back in my gaming days.

“Think about it, Carla. Do you think we could’ve cleared this dungeon just with our usual abilities?”

“Hmm… probably not. I couldn’t have taken down Big Mouth in one go, so both mana and stamina would have depleted much faster. By the time we got to the boss, we’d likely be at our limits.”

“Exactly. Mages may have powerful spells, but they lack the stamina for extended combat. They’re also vulnerable to surprise attacks, and to fully utilize their powers, they need someone to cover for them during incantations.”

“Are you saying you cover that with potions and scrolls?”

“Correct. Even in a dungeon that would otherwise be impossible to clear, maintaining full buffs makes it manageable. Fighting slightly challenging monsters in that state allows for growth, and what if you can also raise your abilities through clear rewards?”

“Then you can more easily run other dungeons afterward.”

“One full buff run can snowball, accelerating the rate of growth by several steps.”

“So, you’re buying time with money.”

“Exactly. Plus, in a case like this, we also earn a reputation for clearing it just the two of us in a short time.”

“The academy allows anyone with talent to enroll, but most of the students are nobles.”

“Of course, with inherited mana levels, family visions, and opportunities to develop their talents, nobles have many advantages. It’s natural.”

“In such an environment, commoners often get ignored… Having a title like ‘Dungeon Conqueror’ would serve as a good shield.”

“In the game, it might have been cool for the ignored protagonist to succeed, but being ignored in reality isn’t pleasant.”

Carla, who had listened to my story, nodded as if she understood.

“True. While there’s a rule against intimidating others with one’s social standing, it’s not strictly followed.”

“Because the academy isn’t the whole world.”

“Relying on that rule and then being found as a cold corpse after graduation wouldn’t be surprising.”

“Of course, that has nothing to do with me.”

“By the time I graduate, slandering nobles won’t be the issue.”

“Anyway, let’s limit our potion intake going forward… How’s your mana? How much has recovered?”

“Hmm. About has 10% recovered. Natural recovery is a bit slow. Shall we start practicing mana spells now?”

I thought for a moment before shaking my head.

“No. The reason we’re not leaving immediately is to avoid getting caught in outside battles, right? There’s no need to hurry if we’re not going to fight once the battle is over.”

“Well… that’s true.”

“You know this too, right, Carla? Once you clear a dungeon, all the monsters inside that we didn’t kill will disappear.”

“Yes. The ‘Keystones’ resisting the seal will vanish, sending them back to their original dimension. I learned this at the Academy.”

“Exactly. The original purpose of the Academy was to cultivate talents who could tackle dungeons, a collective effort from the entire continent.”

I patted Carla’s slightly chubby belly as a sign of praise.

“Heeek! Master? Why are you hitting my belly?”

“To say ‘well done.’”

“Thank you…?”

Carla couldn’t pull away or stop my hand, and she just looked teary-eyed while entrusting her belly to me. I chuckled at the sight.

“The important thing is we have to spend a few more hours here, and it’s safe because there are no monsters or Sajokdo here.”

“Yes, even if a Sajokdo followed us, they would be sealed along with the monsters once they accepted the power of the evil God.”

Sajokdo and monsters differed only by race, but both were followers of the evil God. Therefore, they would also naturally get sealed when the barrier activates. Every time a Sajokdo appeared, Carla’s face darkened.

I slid my hand up from her belly, tenderly raising it.

From her belly to her solar plexus, then towards her chest.

“Eh?!”

Carla shivered as I grabbed one side of her chest.

She looked at me with incredulous eyes, and I moved my face closer to her neck.

Despite her moving around a lot, there was no smell of sweat, but rather an oddly exciting fragrance. Interesting.

After deeply inhaling Carla’s scent, I spoke,

“We have a way to enjoy the remaining time more. What do you think?”

“Hic.”

Instead of answering, Carla started hiccupping.